Swear to the Gods
by BuzzCat
Summary: Darcy Lewis was on the train home when, after getting into a bit of trouble, is saved by the most unlikely of saviors. Dancing on a train is harder than it seems, even if you are dancing with a god. Rated because of an allusion to a rape that never happens. More of a chance for the situation to arise than an actual thing. Just as an fyi.


Darcy sighed, leaning against the wall of the train. It was still another long two hours back to New York and the shaking of the train was starting to wear on her. That, and the guy in the corner who'd been shooting her looks all evening. Not the you-seem-like-an-awesome-individual-whom-I-respect looks, but more like look-at-that-fine-piece-of-ass and slowly licking his lips whenever their eyes had the horror of meeting. Darcy was officially done with it. She stood, stretching her stiff limbs. Of course, it was once her arms were at their highest that she realized this shirt was a little short and that it had ridden up to expose a few inches of skin, while her arms had managed to pull it even tighter across her bust. The creeper in corner was barely keeping his tongue in his head. Darcy crossed her arms and glared out the window. Barely a minute later, the man shifted his weight and slowly stood, making his way through the otherwise empty car toward her. Darcy's eyes darted everywhere but him. _I swear to the gods, a little help would not go amiss._ Darcy sighed and pushed her forehead to the warm window, fantasizing about tasering the creeper. That asshole would never look at another girl like that again once she was through zapping him. She wasn't sure if she was even going to bother with words, just straight up zap him. Oh, she was going to—

"Hello, sweetheart. Sorry I'm late." said a familiarly accented voice, opening the door behind her. Darcy's eyes shot up as she turned to see a stunningly dressed Loki, walking into the car and leaning in to kiss her cheek. Instead of the kiss, he whispered, "I'm here to help." He sat down and smiled charmingly. Darcy glared, doing her level best not to give him an up-down. Instead of the slightly pretentious leather and gold ensemble, he was dressed in a simple, old-fashioned brown suit with a light blue shirt and ruby tie. Darcy, for reasons she couldn't quite fathom, believed him. For the moment. She pulled a fake smile across her face,

"What are you doing here?" she said through her teeth. Loki leaned in,

"You're my trial run. On Asgard, it's been years and years since my little…mishap." he said, not meeting her eyes with the last word. Darcy snorted,

"Some 'mishap'. You're still Public Enemy Numero Uno in New York." she said. Loki shrugged and leaned back,

"But we're not in New York, are we?" he said with a smug grin. Darcy glared nonetheless.

"So the point of this is…?"

"'I swear to the gods, a little help would not go amiss.' Well, I'm the little help."

"The only 'little' thing about you is your humility."

"And would I love to prove it." he said, innuendo lying thick in his words. Darcy kept glaring. Her gaze shifted when she saw the creeper in the corner come lumbering over with what he obviously thought was a seductive grin on his face,

"Do you wanna get away from this boy, honey? I can assure you, I'll do a better job proving anything." he said lecherously. Darcy rolled her eyes and said tightly,

"Lovers tiff. Go away." The man's smile disappeared. Loki saw the trouble and grabbed Darcy's hand,

"Come, dear. He _was_ here first and we _are_ intruding."

"Oh hell no—" But Darcy didn't get to finish her protestations as Loki grabbed her and almost dragged her out of the compartment. Darcy was just glad her purse had happened to still be slung around her shoulder. The moment they were out of the car, Darcy yanked her arm from Loki's grip,

"What the hell was that? Why didn't you just blast him with Asgard mojo or something?" she asked. Loki's face was tight as he said,

"I'm trying to keep a low profile, not antagonize citizens. If there's anything my little experience taught me, it's don't make enemies for the sake of making enemies. You'll need them eventually." he said. Darcy outright laughed at that,

"Yeah, right. You probably just have orders that if you hurt anyone, Daddy won't let you out again."

"Odin may have declared some such thing." said Loki reluctantly. Darcy nodded,

"Right." Only then did she look around her. They seemed to have stumbled into first class, where there was a string quartet and an empty dance floor. Couples sat at tables dotted around the room. Darcy wondered at the practicality of putting a dance floor on a train, but some people were weird like that. Darcy reluctantly allowed him to pull her to the dance floor, weakly protesting,

"I don't dance."

"Then I'll teach you." he said. He spun and pulled Darcy in. She crashed into him and it was like hitting a brick wall. The quartet immediately struck up and Loki led her through a simple, swaying dance. Eventually, other couples joined them, keeping with the swaying, which seemed like the safest option while on a moving train. Darcy had to admit, despite his world-ending, war-starting tendencies, the man did know how to dance. God. Asgardian. Whatever. He knew how to dance.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Darcy. Loki shrugged and looked at the wall above her head,

"Proving I can make a good kind of scene." he said. Darcy nodded, looking over his shoulder. It seemed a good answer. They danced some more in silence. Darcy was still trying to figure out why she had let him help her. She could have taken the creeper in her car, no problem. Sure he was bigger, but she had her tase—

No, she didn't. She remembered that she'd left it in her nightstand at home, deciding that a train ride home and back would be safe. Darcy shivered, suddenly realizing exactly how that confrontation could have gone. There was no one else in the car, and the walls were thick. No one would have heard her scream. She stepped a little closer to Loki,

"Thank you." she whispered. Loki stiffened as she wrapped her arm tighter around him, effectively giving him a one-armed hug. After a moment, he let his head rest against hers,

"You're welcome." Darcy pulled back to look up and meet his eyes and look, truly look, at him since he'd entered the train. There was something different about him. In Puente Antiguo, there had been a shade of desperation in his eyes, drowning in pain beneath his manic mask. This time, it was gone. He was more in control, more aware of his actions and more thoughtful of them. A wry smile touched Darcy's lips,

"You've changed." she said. Loki smiled the first genuine smile she'd ever seen from him,

"Thank you." Darcy rested her head against his chest, sighing as they swayed for the rest of the ride. When the train pulled into the station, Darcy suddenly remembered that this was Public Enemy Number One in New York. She stepped back, rubbing at the back of her neck,

"You, you should probably go. You'll get in trouble and I don't want to answer those questions." Loki stepped back, an indifferent mask visibly sliding over his face and Darcy realized that that must have been the first and longest time someone not in his family had ever touched him. He nodded and bowed slightly,

"Thank you for the dance."

"Thank you for the protection." said Darcy, curtsying with an invisible dress. Loki smiled slightly. Darcy, on a whim, pulled a pen from her purse, "Give me your hand." Loki reluctantly held it out and Darcy scrawled seven numbers on it, "Here's my phone number. You know, in case you have to do any other trial runs for Odin." she said, shuffling her feet. People in furs and suits were standing around her, preparing to leave. Loki looked at his hand in seeming wonder, then said,

"Thank you. If you ever require my assistance, just swear to the gods again." he said. Darcy smiled,

"I will." Loki stepped back, nodded slightly, and was gone in the blink of an eye. Darcy stared at the spot a moment before she shook herself and got off the train, quickly swept up in the bustle of New York City. As she walked back to her apartment though, she couldn't help a small smile. She would have to swear to the gods more often.


End file.
